Speranza
by xtechnicolordreamsx
Summary: Sora expected to be thrust into a bright and happy world with Riku and Kairi at his side. He expected adventure and fun and games, and exploring the many different worlds with ardour and energy. He didn't expect this. Sora-centric, gen.


Disclaimer: Don't own, don't believe, don't wish to be sued.

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When Sora wandered around Traverse Town for the first time, he found himself astonished at how different it was from his own home—there were no trees or bright skies in Traverse, much unlike the sunny days at the Islands. There were no friendly people or familiar faces; people kept to themselves and scarce spoke when Sora asked them for directions. The people at the Islands were different. They were friendly. They were kind.

Sora found himself missing a lot of things—Riku and Kairi, mainly, along with the familiar warmth of his sheets and the smell of his mother's cooking wafting through the air. He expected to be thrust into a bright and happy world with Riku at his side, and Kairi not too far away. He expected adventure and fun and games, and exploring the many different worlds with ardour and energy. He expected sunny days and grandiose castles. Instead, he found himself surrounded by dim lights and a murky smell, much like the smell of sewers and of humidity floating in the air to meet in an unpleasant mix. He scowled.

With his hands in his pockets, Sora made his way around the Accessory Shop and towards a pair of large wooden doors. Curiously, he pushed them open to find a large town square. A small, discarded sign fallen to the ground read 'Second District'. At the end of the Square, there was a large while building with a clock, and some shops and apartments here and there. A smile slowly found its way onto his face once more—Traverse Town was beautiful in its own way, he realized, as he walked toward the edge of the terrace and peered down. The cobbled streets were illuminated by many dimly lit lamp posts and by the white building's bright lights. Most of the stores were closed, judging by their unlit and locked state. Sora jammed his hands back into his pants and fingered the cool 'Potion'-marked green bottle in his pocket (what are potions for, anyway, he wondered aloud) and made his way around the terrace, before a loud thundering noise blared in his ears and shook the ground.

Sora found himself surrounded by small black creatures and six or so yellow bell-like things floating in the air, tinkling as they regarded him with bright yellow eyes. The air around them sizzled with lighting, and while Sora's mind yelled at him to run, his legs would not obey—he was frozen. Astounded.

The Keyblade appeared in his shaking hands and somewhere in the back of his mind, Sora knew he had to stand and fight, but he could not. He was too afraid. Too inexperienced. Fighting was Riku's thing, that's why Riku always won and why he always lost. As the black creatures twitched and ran closer to him, Sora let out a strangled cry and turned on his heels to run. He felt his heart pounding in his throat and felt panic seize his body. At every corner he met, more of those bell-like creatures and black things appeared. He was soon surrounded, but couldn't think of what to do. This was different from before. At the island, the black things disappeared if he ran away. But this time they didn't. They followed. And at least that large heart-chested monster at the island moved slowly and barely attacked. It wasn't like these things, which moved fast and followed his every move.

A bolt of lightning struck his arm, and Sora dropped the Keyblade, hand burning with pain. The skin was a blotchy red where the lightning struck, and Sora found a similar mark on his other arm, that tingled with the same pain. He looked up to see the many bell-like creatures sizzling with lightning, and he knew there were going to strike again. All of them. Panic gripping his heart like an eagle with sharp claws, Sora ran into the little alleyway and hope lit up in his chest upon seeing a large door at the end—that must be the exit, they couldn't follow me there, he thought shakily to himself.

Sora kicked the door open only to find more monsters on the other side, this time a mix of bells and black creatures and twitching soldier-like monsters, all regarding him with beaming yellow eyes, and before he knew it, Sora found himself pushed over the edge of the tall terrace, barely registering the pain when his shoulder hit the steps beneath him. He heard a loud snapping noise and wondered what it could be, before red clouded his vision (he barely made out a sign that read 'Third District' hanging on a sign before him) and a large, searing pain exploded all over his head and arm.

Moaning, Sora looked down to find his left arm bent at a terrifying angle and felt his heart hammer against his ribcage when he saw a solid, clean, milky white sticking out from his skin. Tears welled in his eyes as he shook and saw the blood dripping from his chin and onto his pants. In the corner of his eye, Sora noticed the creatures making their way toward him. He let out a strangled cry for help, before realizing that no one was there. He was alone.

Shakily, Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out the cool green bottle. Maybe it would help him. Maybe it would make it all go away. _Pleasepleaseplease_, Sora begged to the skies, _please help me_. The pain shot up from his broken arm as he accidentally jostled himself, but Sora willed the nausea away, uncorked the bottle and drank.

All of a sudden, like magic, Sora felt the bone push itself back into his arm—oh _god_, did it hurt—and watched in awe as the skin began to knit itself shut, and soon the pain in his arm was gone, gone... Only his bleeding forehead throbbed, but Sora ignored that and slowly stood up, gingerly fingering the area where his radius stuck out of mere seconds ago. Upon realizing that that was his only potion, he knew that he had two choices: stay and fight, or run and risk hurting himself worse upon meeting more monsters. He wondered, in the back of his mind what Riku would have done. He was only thirteen. What could he do? His mind made up and resolve clear, the young teenager threw the empty bottle to the ground, drawing more monsters to him as they heard it shatter, and slowly got up, testing his muscles and bones to see if all was well. Sora picked up the Keyblade, held it tight with shaking hands, and stood his ground. He was going to be brave. He was going to find Riku and Kairi, no matter what the cost.

When the creatures neared him, Sora willed his erratic heartbeat still.

"Come and get it," he yelled, before running at them with the Keyblade slashing at the air.

He was going to find those sunny skies and familiar smiles once again, even if it killed him.

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My first Kingdom Hearts fanfiction, which sprouted into my head while I was playing and wondered how Sora's injuries would look like in real life.  
Hope you enjoyed :)


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